Family-to-Family

Share Your Bounty

Fully-Sponsored

Situated next door to the town where Family-to-Family started, Dobbs Ferry is a small New York village of 11,000 people that sits alongside the Hudson River, just north of New York City.

While much of Dobbs Ferry is a well-to-do bedroom suburb of Manhattan, about 600 moms, dads, kids, and seniors here live in profound poverty.

Local residents in the area sign up with us to provide Stop & Shop grocery gift cards for these Dobbs families in need, either by making a monthly donation to Family-to-Family that we use to purchase a grocery card, or by buying it themselves and dropping it at our office. Cards are distributed to the families each month through SPRING Community Partners, our Dobbs Ferry partner organization.

Unlike in the other communities served by F-to-F, in Dobbs Ferry the names of both the donors and the families in need are kept anonymous, to respect everyone’s privacy, since they may know each other. Each family in need is identified only by an alphabet letter. That means, for example, a sponsor will purchase a grocery gift card and put it in an envelope labeled “For Family S.”

And although we keep it anonymous, families are still sometimes finding a way to communicate… by sending a card or note with no names.

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Formerly known as East Las Vegas, the town of Whitney is just a 20 minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip.  Not long ago, the area boasted a robust economy thanks to abundant jobs in Las Vegas, but during the recent economic downturn the tourism industry was hit hard and those jobs dried up.  Especially for the 18.4% of adults without high school diplomas, making a living has never been harder.  Since the early 2000’s, Whitney has seen its poverty rate climb by nearly 50%, while its population has more than doubled.

According to the U.S. 2022 Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, in Whitney:

  • A quarter of children under 18 live below the federal poverty line
  • 19.3% of households have annual income of under $25,000
  • 39.9% of residents are unemployed

Family-to-Family’s community partner here is the Whitney Elementary School, where school officials witness the poverty their students face every day.  An administrator tells us, “Most families have limited or no income at all. They live in government housing and 80% of the children are receiving free lunches. At our school, we try to provide clothes, shoes, and food to help the kids feel good about themselves, so they can learn.”

In Whitney, Family-to-Family partners with Albertson’s grocery store to provide groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Contact:
Sherrie Gahn
5005 Keenan Avenue
LasVegas, NV 89122-7461

Click here to watch a CBS News piece about how families at Whitney Elementary School are struggling to overcome poverty.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2022

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Although Orlando brings to mind Disney stories, smiling children and summer vacations, the 2008 recession hit the city hard. The collapse of a hyper-inflated real estate market and a sharp downturn in tourism took their toll, with many residents of central Florida losing tourism related jobs. As the country and the state of Florida have rebounded since 2010, Orlando’s unemployment rate has dropped, but at least 350,000 Central Floridians remain mired in poverty, in large part because available jobs pay very low wages.  

According to 2022 data, in Orlando:

  • 32.3% of people are unemployed
  • 14.2% of people live below the federal poverty line

The working poor number is even bigger. A United Way study showed that 43% of households in Orlando’s Orange County report being unable to afford bare necessities, despite being employed. The median hourly wage in Florida is one of the country’s lowest.

Family-to-Family’s liaison in Orlando is the Jesus Loves You Outreach Ministry, led by its president and founder Pauline Jackson. Pauline opened her doors in 2002. A wife, grandmother and mother of four, she says of her service to others, “I had a rough life. But God came into my life. He saved me. This is my way to give back.” Pauline’s devotion helps hundreds of families in the greater Orlando area. The ministry opens its doors on Wednesdays to offer food, household items, baby supplies and clothing, currently serving anywhere from 70 to 110 families a week. She also runs school backpack and supply drives for low income children every summer as well as personal care item drives for the homeless. And with help from Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, the Ministry also offers a children’s summer food program. On Thursday afternoons kids receive backpacks full of non-perishable foods to take home so they’ll have something to eat over the weekend.

Pauline identifies families in need for Family-to-Family’s sponsorship program and The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida provide groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Partner:
Pauline Jackson
Jesus Loves You Outreach Ministries
6111 Lost Tree Ct.
Orlando, Florida 32808

To learn more:

Data Sources: 2022 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

In northwestern New Mexico near the Arizona border is the city of Gallup, which abuts lands belonging to the Navajo Nation. A substantial part of Gallup’s population is Native American, including some Hopi, Zuni and a large number of Navajos. Gallup is also the location of The Community Pantry, which provides food to impoverished Navajo families and serves as our coordinating agency and link to the Navajo families we serve.

While some official statistics put Gallup’s unemployment rate at 20% in 2016, many of the “jobs” counted include self-employed individuals who create and sell handmade goods and provide services for very little money. According to the Navajo Nation, excluding these low-earning individuals would bring the true unemployment rate to just over 57%. Other issues add to the economic blight. Businesses stay away from the region because roads are unpaved, and electricity, water and telecommunications services are minimal to non-existent, although access has improved since 2000. Police and fire services are similarly limited.

According to 2010 census data (the latest available):

  • Just over 46% of Navajo Nation homes had no telephones.
  • Over 21% of homes had incomplete plumbing.
  • 87% of the 9,286 miles of reservation roads were unpaved.
  • 44% of people under the age of 18 in the Navajo Nation lived below the poverty level.
  • Almost 32% of all households in the Navajo Nation had annual incomes below $15,000.

Outreach workers helping the Navajo families who use the Community Pantry say living conditions are extreme. “We have families with 4-7 children that live in one room — 20’x 20’ un-insulated, plywood shacks — with no utilities (maybe an extension cord strung from the one electrical meter located in the camp) and a wood stove. One ‘camp’ outhouse is for all families. Other families live in traditional Hogans (8-sided one room log/mud homes) with chunks of mud missing in the walls and cardboard or blankets stuffed in windows. Wind and dirt blow under the door. Soot from the wood stove accumulates, making air quality dangerous.”

Many families have no available transportation; cars are old and often broken-down, and public transportation is minimal or nonexistent. Distances are vast; without phones or transportation, communication is difficult and families are isolated.

Hilda Kendall, the chief operating officer at the Gallup Community Pantry, is our community contact in Gallup. The Pantry’s Emergency Food Assistance Program provides food to about 1,500 families every month.

Community Contact:
Hilda Kendall
The Community Pantry
PO Box 520
Gallup, New Mexico 87305

To learn more about the Navajo Nation in New Mexico:

Data Sources: Navajo Nation Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2018; Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development; Demographic Analysis of the Navajo Nation Using 2010 Census and 2016-2017 American Community Survey Estimates

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

In the heart of Appalachia’s Cumberland Mountains, the town of Beverly is home to Red Bird Mission, a poverty relief organization that serves a remote, impoverished population in Bell, Clay, and Leslie counties in southeastern Kentucky. Access to the region can be difficult, depending on the weather and time of year. Public services and infrastructure are minimal, and lack of education is a significant issue. Public water is inadequate and there’s no public sewer. Telephone and electricity service are unreliable during bad weather.

According to the 2022 Census data:

  • In Bell County 15.7% of residents do not have health coverage
  • In Bell County 455 of residents are unemployed
  • In Clay County 35.1% of households have an income of under $25,000
  • In Clay County 62.7% of housing units are valued under $100,000

Red Bird Mission is the local coordinating agency that refers families in need and distributes groceries purchased by Family-to-Family donating families. Red Bird is a National Mission Institution of The United Methodist Church, and since 1921, it has provided educational, medical, and community outreach programs for residents of the Red Bird River Valley.

In addition to its regular sponsorship program to help families living under the poverty line, Family-to-Family also supports “The Gap Pantry” at Red Bird Mission, which provides food to struggling families with incomes just over the poverty line. Through this sponsorship program, low income, working families can “shop” (no funds needed), for the foods they most need at the “Gap” pantry. Read more about “Gap” family sponsorship here.

Community Contact
Candace Collins
Red Bird Mission
70 Queendale Center
Beverly, KY 40913

To learn more about the area:

Data Sources: Poverty & Education statistics – U.S. Census Bureau

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

A small city located in Genesee County, Burton is a suburb of the economically devastated city of Flint. The area is still reeling from extensive layoffs and plant closings caused by the decline of Michigan’s auto industry.

According to 2022 U.S. Census data, in Genesee County:

  • 29.7% of households have an annual income of under $35,000
  • 24.1% of children under 18 live in poverty
  • 44% of residents are unemployed

Family-to-Family expanded its program to Burton ten years ago when we were contacted by a mother of six who was struggling, unable to provide for her family. Today, our partner in Burton is Atherton Middle School. School officials report that, “…daily, kids are coming into school announcing a parent’s job loss…It seems like the whole state is bleeding.” A school social worker recommends families in need to Family-to-Family for sponsorship.

We also work with Meijer Store in Burton; they provide monthly grocery gift cards for the sponsored families in our program.

Community Contact:
Colleen Kure
Atherton Middle School
3444 S. Genesee Rd.
Burton, Michigan 48519

*Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau: 2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!